CHIANG RAI – Early this morning in Chiang Rai, soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Company, under the Pha Muang Task Force, were on patrol along the Thai-Myanmar border near Mae Fa Luang district. Their mission was to block drug smugglers from crossing into Thailand.
As they reached the area around Pang Nun Pattana village, officers spotted a group of about 15 to 20 people carrying large backpacks, walking through the forest and rice fields on the Thai side. When soldiers moved in to investigate, the group panicked and fired guns at the patrol, trying to escape. A gunfight broke out and lasted around 10 minutes.
The soldiers were unharmed. The others ran back into the forest, dropping their packs along the way. After the shooting stopped, officials checked the scene and found one man dead in a rice field water channel. He wore shorts and a long-sleeved shirt.
Along the route the group ran, soldiers later found 21 bags made from fertilizer sacks. Each bag was packed with about 200,000 methamphetamine pills, totalling around 4.2 million pills. The officers collected the drugs as evidence and contacted other agencies to continue the investigation.
The border area across from Pang Nun, Pa Sang Nang Ngern, and Lichi is home to the Musur Dam community, which was once linked to the late Lt. Col. Yi Se. Even after his death, smugglers still use these mountain routes to move drugs into Thailand.
Soldiers Kill 16 Drug Runners
Over the last eight months, the army’s Pha Muang Task Force has reported a sharp increase in drug busts along Thailand’s northern border. Army soldiers have intercepted illegal drugs with an estimated street value close to 26 billion baht, especially around Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.
From October 2024 through early June, soldiers stopped 284 smuggling attempts. They arrested 299 suspects and seized a huge amount of drugs. Authorities recovered more than 112 million meth pills.
In Chiang Rai, army soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force confiscated over 57 million pills, while Chiang Mai saw about 55 million pills taken off the streets. The rest were found in the provinces of Phayao, Nan, Uttaradit, and Phitsanulok.
The army also confiscated 145 kilograms of heroin. Most of it came from Chiang Rai, with a smaller amount from Chiang Mai. Ice (crystal meth) seizures reached just over 8,000 kilograms, mostly from Chiang Rai, plus over 1,200 kilograms from Chiang Mai.
Officers also found 42.9 kilograms of opium and 695 kilograms of ketamine.
If these drugs had made it to Bangkok, authorities estimate the economic impact could have topped 25.7 billion baht.
During this period, troops clashed with drug-smuggling groups 40 times. Sixteen traffickers were killed in these encounters. The most recent shootout took place late at night on June 4.
Soldiers from the Fourth Cavalry Company crossed paths with traffickers near the Thai-Myanmar border at Phabong, Mon Pin, Fang district, Chiang Mai. One suspect was killed, and troops seized three bags containing 200,000 meth pills and nearly 21 kilograms of raw opium.
The military says it will keep up efforts to stop drug trafficking in the region.
